Farm bill gets no respect

President Obama is taking notice of the House and Senate struggle. | AP Photo

Most importantly, perhaps, the hide-bound commodity lobbies are under pressure to show more flexibility themselves. Fair or unfair, the disconnect surrounding the farm bill is real. And farm-bill advocates admit that new approaches are needed to expand their base of support in Congress.

The American Farm Bureau Federation appeared to go in the opposite direction recently when it pulled back its Washington office for having been open to compromises attaching conservative compliance rules to crop insurance—a priority for environmentalists. Much more could be done to shake up the Agriculture Department and develop new whole farm insurance options—a priority for vegetable and fruit growers with diversified crops.

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“There is a huge interest in all things food-related among the public at large, probably more so than at any time in recent memory,” said Ferd Hoefner, policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. “On those local food and public health issues, as well as on soil, water, and wildlife conservation, rural jobs and business development, and support for young and beginning farmers …support is strong.”

“Today’s Washington establishment tends to look right past those concerns as somehow unworthy of serious attention. But, to be fair, what they see so often is hard fought and very arcane debates between commodity interests and regions of the country over how best to divvy up subsidies to grain and cotton farmers and dairy producers.”

“Nothing encapsulates the disconnect better than that - while the public clamors for making the farm bill a food bill, the farm bill conferees will waste time debating whether to remove nutrition from the next farm bill cycle.”

Hoefner got his start in farm policy as a House aide when the late Rep. Thomas Foley (D-Wash) chaired the House Agriculture Committee. Foley went on to be Speaker, and his death last week was a reminder of how much the political landscape has changed since he was chairman more than a generation ago.

For four of his six years as chair in the 70’s and 80’s, Foley was also chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He represented the wheat farmers of western Washington but was a bridge as well to the more urban members of the House.

“Foley’s presence elevated the Agriculture Committee,” said former Rep. Dan Glickman (D-Kan.) who served on the panel then. “Foley was a real bridge between the urban and rural…We got a lot done in that committee.”

Glickman would go to be Agriculture secretary under President Bill Clinton. And the Democratic roster on the panel was especially rich in political talent including not just a future speaker, but a future Senate majority leader, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and most famous perhaps, Rep. Leon Panetta (D-Calif.) –so pivotal to the Clinton and Obama administrations.

Nothing to match this exists today.

By his own admission, Peterson is a bit of an outlier in his own party. But as chairman during the last farm bill debate in 2008, he was able to make up the difference through his personal ties to then Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.), who was pivotal to winning House passage.

By contrast, Lucas plays the consummate good soldier for the GOP. But he has been repeatedly undercut by own party leadership, most notably Cantor.

The rise of the of the tea party forces among Republicans is certainly part of this—calling into question government’s traditional role in agriculture. But part too is the steady drop in the number of House districts with a significant rural population.

Just 34 House seats are judged more than 50% rural, according to Census numbers. Just 77 have a rural population of over 40 percent.

As if mindful of this, the late Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) — while a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee—famously held events in Kroger Food Stores to remind voters of where the food came from.

“The farm bill and the American consumer, it’s kind of like a bunch of high school kids,” Lucas told POLITICO. “As long as the car’s out front, it’s full of gas, the insurance is paid, and you have the keys, the kids take it for granted.”

“I think my colleagues and the folks out in the countryside take it for granted that agriculture is always going to be there, it’s going to work. That said, somebody has to put gas in that car. Somebody has to buy that insurance. Somebody has to pass a farm bill. Somebody has to create a safety net.”

“We may not get the respect but nonetheless we’re still the defense between every consumer on this planet and hunger.”